New chinese algae eater

[bloodlucky]

All of the sudden a few days ago, during school, I suddenly wanted a Chinese algae eater. I have no idea why but I went home and went on Yahoo! Answers (which was not the smartest decision) and saw a few "experienced" users say that they are perfect for a 40 gallon (which I have) and they get big (which is true.) I do have some algae on my walls which I am too lazy to scrape off, so ultimately today I bought a golden algae eater.

Then of course I find another web site that says that if they get hungry, they will eat tank mates. In my 40 I have a ram, platys (including one at youth) neons and danios which are all perfectly susceptible to being the algae eater's target.

I want to avoid cannibalism in any way possible. A few minutes ago I dropped in a piece of an algae wafer hoping the Algae Eater would get it, but instead all the faster smarter fish found it first and swarmed it, leaving my new algae eater unfed.

I was wondering what else I should feed that the algae eater won't have trouble getting at? I have frozen brine shrimp and like 1 more bloodworm cube in the fridge I believe, but CAE prefer algae, I presume.

[Taiken5968]

I am told zucchini is good for them.

[armymp327]

from what ive read they are mainly algae eaters, and i dont think they will eat bloodworms, flake food, or anything else.

he may not even know what the algae wafer is so he does not go to it right away, might take awhile for him to figure it out. also they do grow to be about 12 inches long so be prepared for that.

and yes they can attack the other fish more so in smaller tanks because they feel the need to defend their territory

[Taiken5968]

Originally Posted by armymp327

from what ive read they are mainly algae eaters, and i dont think they will eat bloodworms, flake food, or anything else.

he may not even know what the algae wafer is so he does not go to it right away, might take awhile for him to figure it out. also they do grow to be about 12 inches long so be prepared for that.

and yes they can attack the other fish more so in smaller tanks because they feel the need to defend their territory

Mine will eat shrimp pellets I drop in. No significant amount flake food ever makes it down that far so I don't know about it.

[bloodlucky]

So as far as feeding goes what do you all recommend? Should the zucchini be raw? How much of it should I feed?

[armymp327]

Originally Posted by Taiken5968

Mine will eat shrimp pellets I drop in. No significant amount flake food ever makes it down that far so I don't know about it.

they may eat them, however they are herbivores and dont benefit much from the shrimp pellets besides the small amounts of kelp or sprinula it might have in it.

[armymp327]

Originally Posted by Bobjoefredsky

So as far as feeding goes what do you all recommend? Should the zucchini be raw? How much of it should I feed?

it should be blanched (put in water and then in the microwave for about a 60 seconds) and if its just the one, id only put 1/4 or 1/2 depending on his size. though your platies and others will likely go after it as well

[Taiken5968]

Originally Posted by armymp327

they may eat them, however they are herbivores and dont benefit much from the shrimp pellets besides the small amounts of kelp or sprinula it might have in it.

Yeah he eats off the glass and decor most of the time. It runs to the shrimp pellets and sucks up any crumbs it can get after my catfish are done. I guess there is something there it likes.

[bloodlucky]

In my quarantine tank there is a rock covered in algae which has been that way for a while can I move that to the 40 so the CAE will eat off it for now

[Wiggles24]

Originally Posted by armymp327

from what ive read they are mainly algae eaters, and i dont think they will eat bloodworms, flake food, or anything else.

he may not even know what the algae wafer is so he does not go to it right away, might take awhile for him to figure it out. also they do grow to be about 12 inches long so be prepared for that.

and yes they can attack the other fish more so in smaller tanks because they feel the need to defend their territory

CAE will eat any food you put in the tank. Actually, they really don't do much algae eating at all! Lol

[Taiken5968]

Originally Posted by Wiggles24

CAE will eat any food you put in the tank. Actually, they really don't do much algae eating at all! Lol

Mine does spend a lot of time doing nothing.

[shellieca]

I have 2 golden CAE's that I've had for a year now & I actually love them. They're not the friendliest but they entertain me! In any case, they do only eat algae while juveniles. I feed mine cucumber, zucchini, squash once or twice a week. I buy the veggie cut into about 1/4" thick medallions & freeze them, then I can take out what I need when I need it. I think mine still eat algae wafers but I'm not 100% sure, I do know that in the last few weeks they will come out of hiding when I sprinkle in the pellets for my femal bettas. A lot of the pellets fall to the substrate & the CAE's come out & start munching. As for eating tank mates . . . my understanding is they latch on to certain types of fish like they would the tank wall, I don't think it's intentional as far as thinking "OH LOOK A FOOD!!". The fish they latch onto are usually slow moving & flatter in body shape. Sorry, for being long winded, I happen to love the CAE's & hate the bad wrap they've been given.

[Coursair]

Most get quite nasty as they get big. They do get territorial , they often will go after slower fish and graze on body slime ( which can kill the other fish ) They only eat mainly Algae when they are young.

In a large tank with fast fish, they may be fine as a Semi Aggressive fish. In smaller tanks they usually become a nightmare.

A few people have CAEs that stay calm. Most people have nasty ones. I know because people would call begging us to take their CAE. Or just dump them at the store and run.

One that was turned in was a solid 10". It had killed all its tankmates. But it was in great shape. We sent it to a 150g tank with fast Barbs and Rainbows.

[Taiken5968]

Originally Posted by Coursair

Most get quite nasty as they get big. They do get territorial , they often will go after slower fish and graze on body slime ( which can kill the other fish ) They only eat mainly Algae when they are young.

In a large tank with fast fish, they may be fine as a Semi Aggressive fish. In smaller tanks they usually become a nightmare.

A few people have CAEs that stay calm. Most people have nasty ones. I know because people would call begging us to take their CAE. Or just dump them at the store and run.

One that was turned in was a solid 10". It had killed all its tankmates. But it was in great shape. We sent it to a 150g tank with fast Barbs and Rainbows.

Mine was less than an inch wen I got it. I'll give it away when it gets bigger. It's about an 2 inches now. I have seen it try and latch onto my pictus catfish a time or two. It doesn't know that it is playing with fire, because they could easily eat him.

[Wiggles24]

Originally Posted by shellieca

I have 2 golden CAE's that I've had for a year now & I actually love them. They're not the friendliest but they entertain me! In any case, they do only eat algae while juveniles. I feed mine cucumber, zucchini, squash once or twice a week. I buy the veggie cut into about 1/4" thick medallions & freeze them, then I can take out what I need when I need it. I think mine still eat algae wafers but I'm not 100% sure, I do know that in the last few weeks they will come out of hiding when I sprinkle in the pellets for my femal bettas. A lot of the pellets fall to the substrate & the CAE's come out & start munching. As for eating tank mates . . . my understanding is they latch on to certain types of fish like they would the tank wall, I don't think it's intentional as far as thinking "OH LOOK A FOOD!!". The fish they latch onto are usually slow moving & flatter in body shape. Sorry, for being long winded, I happen to love the CAE's & hate the bad wrap they've been given.

Thank you! I really like them too

[bloodlucky]

Ok I'm really scared now and I can't believe petco would casually sell them like they're an ordinary bottom feeder. Is there any alternative to a zucchini (I don't do well with household vegetables) or something I can feed for now? I'm really ready to return this thing if it gets out of hand

[bloodlucky]

Anything?

[bloodlucky]

Like anything besides zucchini for now

[Cactuspixie]

Originally Posted by Bobjoefredsky

Like anything besides zucchini for now

Just add a little extra of whatever you're feeding the other fish. There is no way a CAE is going to starve itself to death. Mine ate anything and everything. Until I got rid of him. I gave him to someone who needed to cycle their first tank. They still have him. I think he could jump out of the tank, get trodden on and tossed back into the tank half dried out, and he'd still give attitude. They never see him eat, and he certainly doesn't clean up the algae, but he's growing, so he's obviously eating.

[bloodlucky]

Thanks. Will there be a point where eventually I would Have to return him?